Kiyonari Takes Wet Weather Win at Donington Park

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) put on a dazzling display of controlled wet weather riding to lead the entire second race of the Donington Park WSB weekend and cancel out the memory of a first race crash. Race one lasted only 19 laps in total, and was an aggregate even after an oil spill brought out the red flags, then the return of heavy rain stopped the second leg four laps early.

Riyuichi Kiyonari

Cal Crutchlow

In a weekend which had featured wet sessions in every single outing until the first WSB race itself, Kiyonari, who had qualified second behind Troy Bayliss, fell while leading on lap two of the first race, at the same spot his team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR Jr) would fall at seconds later. Kiyonari’s brilliant recovery after a delayed second race, which was started in sudden monsoon conditions and on full wet tyres for all, puts him eighth in the championship on 190 points.

Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR) is still the top scoring Honda rider in the championship standings, fourth overall despite crashing out on a suspected oil spill in race one, and then posting a ninth place finish in race two. He had been a strong third after the wet Superpole session, but could not quite match his practice pace in the second race.

Bayliss was awarded the first race win, from local wildcard Tom Sykes and eventual third place man Max Biaggi, who inherited that place from his team-mate Ruben Xaus after the Spanish rider crashed on his slow down lap and was not classified a finisher.

In race two, local Honda wild card rider Cal Crutchlow took second after chasing ‘Kiyo’ for much of the race, with Troy Corser third. James Ellison, another local Honda rider, was fourth in race two.

Roberto Rolfo (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR) was on for a great raceday at Donington, despite finishing only 25th in qualifying, until he fell and brought down wildcard Honda rider Leon Haslam at the Foggy Esses. He took points for 13th in the second race and now sits 20th in the championship.

Fifteenth-place qualifier Gregorio Lavilla (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) rode hard to a season-best fourth in race one, and took a measured seventh in race two. Karl Muggeridge (DFX Corse Honda CBR1000RR) missed out on Superpole but went ninth in the opener, posting a DNF in race two after falling at the final corner.

Chris Walker (Vent-Axia VK Honda CBR1000RR) retired from each race after qualifying 13th, while Shuhei Aoyama (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) was 14th in race one, 17th in race two. Matt Lynn (Alto Evolution Honda CBR1000RR) replaced Jason Pridmore at Donington in a last minute rider switch, but had a torrid time in the changeable weather conditions, failing to meet the qualifying time but being allowed to race anyway, before posting two DNFs.

Kiyonari said: “I was so disappointed to crash in race one. I got an incredible start, which is unusual for me and maybe I was a little too excited. I was so sorry for my team who worked so hard to give me a good bike for dry conditions, even though we had no dry practice. For the second race, I was actually quite pleased it rained, because we knew the bike was good in the wet. But the conditions were unbelievable in the early part of the race. I had very little control and, by the time the track started to improve, my tyres were finished. It was a little scary at times, but I’m very happy to repay the team with another win.”

Checa said: “It was not easy at all today. Race one was very difficult and I had no confidence for race two in those bad conditions. The start was very difficult and I had to take my time, but I couldn’t get up to speed with the riders in front. I tried to catch Xaus towards the end of the race but it was just too risky.”

Sofuoglu said: “It has been a very difficult weekend for me. I couldn’t get a good feeling for the bike during the practice and qualifying sessions and then the first race gave us completely different conditions. Of course, crashing early made it more difficult and my shoulder is quite sore so it would have been even harder to ride in race two. I can only hope for better conditions in Italy.”

Rolfo said: “I am really disappointed with today's results of course. Starting from the last rows always makes life difficult, but after the first few opening laps the bike felt great and I was able to make some fast laps quite quickly and in few laps I reached fifth place. During the tenth lap the race was red flagged. In the second leg of the race, after an excellent second start, I had a bit of a battle with Haslam and Sykes. In the Esses I tried to overtake them but I crashed and I was not able to restart. I’m sorry for the team and I want to thank them for setting things up so well on the machine.”

Lavilla said: “So far this has been the best weekend for the team and for myself but ironically it’s also been the hardest as the whole weekend has been in the wet. The first race was a gamble for tyre choice as the weather was really unpredictable with spots of rain and dry periods but we managed to finish fourth. Race two was once again a difficult one as we had a really heavy downfall on the starting grid and on the first lap.”

Walker said: “I was desperate to make it into Superpole coming into this weekend and I ended up qualifying about where I wanted to be. I had two strong race starts and was moving along well but we had technical problems in the races.”

Round 12 of the 14 round World Championship takes place at Vallelunga 21 September, with only WSB and WSS classes in attendance.

Gregorio Lavilla

Joshua Brookes

World Supersport Championship

Brookes Wins As Honda Riders Go 1-2-3 In the Championship Standings

After a thrilling 22-lap Supersport race at Donington Josh Brookes (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) gave his team their first win, as he himself took his second career win in this class. Having qualified fourth, Brookes was in a race-long contest with fellow Honda riders Andrew Pitt (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) with Barry Veneman’s Suzuki falling off the leading pace towards the final few laps.

All three top Honda riders took their turn to lead, but at the end Brookes had the final game plan that put him 0.872 seconds ahead of 15th place qualifier Pitt, and 4.846 seconds up on fellow front row rider Rea. Matthieu Lagrive was on pole on Saturday, in the wet conditions that affected every single session before the largely dry race itself, but the Frenchman slipped back in the race to ninth.

In the championship the three Donington podium finishers hold the top positions also, with Pitt on 169 points, Brookes now second on 137, and Rea third on 133.

Robbin Harms (Hannspree Stiggy Motorsports Honda CBR600RR) qualified 12th in the wet and raced to sixth in the dry, while 16th place qualifier Gianluca Nannelli (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) equalled that performance in the race, just missing out on points. Russell Holland (Hannspree Althea Honda CBR600RR) got tangled with another rider on lap two and failed to finish.

A tribute to the late Craig Jones, who lost his life after a crash at Brands Hatch, was held before the first Superbike race of the day. His great friend and regular Hannspree Althea Honda rider Tommy Hill did a slow lap on the number 18 Parkalgar Honda ridden by Jones this year, to the applause of the British crowd.

Brookes said:
“Today was great, I had a great bike to race with and I rode my best to finish on the top. I got a good start and felt really comfortable. The guys in front were not as fast as I was expecting so I was quite surprised. I put my head down and I felt really secure that I was able to fight for the win. I had a few moments but as I got comfortable again I focused on riding perfect laps and before I knew it I was right behind Pitt. I stayed behind and two laps before the finish I passed and brought home the victory. I’m really happy, especially since we didn't have any dry practice this weekend. I was really thankful that we found such a good dry race set-up. I want to thank the team for hard work and for giving me the right tools to win today. I also would like to dedicate this win to the memory of Craig Jones.”

Pitt said:
“I thought I’d done enough but Josh had a little bit more at the end, I guess. I’m happy enough after the problems we had in qualifying yesterday, and starting from the fourth row was always going to be hard work. But it was made easier by the team, who put a great bike underneath me, so big thanks to them.”

Rea said:
“I’ll take third today, because I didn’t really have enough to match the two guys in front of me. But the team’s been fantastic after all the wet weather this weekend and the bike was brilliant. I was trying to win the race as much for my good friend, Craig Jones, as for myself. Maybe that was the problem today.”

Harms said:
“My start was OK, but I had two near highsides on the first lap, one was so big I hit my head on the screen and broke it. I was really lucky not to crash but I lost a few positions and also my confidence and rhythm. Now I need to start focusing on the next race and make good results.”

Nannelli said:
“Today was definitely not a good day. I had a bad start and I lost a lot of time trying to pass some slow riders. From the very beginning of the race I experienced a problem with the front suspension and it was impossible for me to pursue the riders in front of me.”

Holland said:
“It’s hard to explain just how disappointed I am. After a good start, I was feeling quite comfortable and confident on the bike. I tried to overtake Kallio him on the inside but I touched his bike and we crashed. I'm feeling pain in my wrist and I have a swollen eye, but hopefully I’ll be able to race in Vallelunga. I’d like to apologize to my team as I’ve created a lot of extra work for them.”

On September 21st the WSS competitors gather at Vallelunga in Italy for round 11 of the championship.